AIR Tests Are Here

By: Caleb GreenLifeoftheDogs.com reporter

With the end of the year closing in, we now have AIR tests to look forward to. Many people dread test days, while others eagerly await them. Whether you like it or not, to graduate, testing is needed for the state to evaluate the knowledge that you have acquired in order to show growth and equality with the standards. Tests are the best way we know how to evaluate students abilities.

People all over the world take tests. In the small country of Finland, students take only one standardized test and it is called the National Matriculation Examination. Currently, students in the United States take seven standardized test. These tests have changed over the years, but they currently take the AIR tests. Finland was ranked first in the world for student overall academic achievement, whereas the United States is ranked 17th. This shows that increasing the number of standardized tests administered does not equal increasing student achievement.

However, in the state of Ohio, we need to pass these tests to graduate. Which means we need to take them.

We used to take tests with paper, and now we take tests on computers. Does that have an effect on the test takers?

In a Scott High School poll, 7/10 students stated that taking the english AIR test made them more sleepy than that of an old school paper and pen test.

Some students however, like Jasiah Nelums, “appreciate the ease of typing that comes with the computer testing.”

According to a survey conducted by the Finnish government in 2014, 78% answered that they do not feel stressed about the test as they know that they are “prepared for the test.” Students feel more confident as they know that their teachers are the ones who create the tests which means they know what to expect.

Students in the US, however, have no idea who creates the tests, nor do they feel 100% confident about the test.

No student is exactly the same, so for students to take the same tests as each other seems counter productive. Students are not using their full potential because of the way that they are evaluated.

Some students learn better with a hands on experience, of course it would be hard for each class to have some type of hands on test.

We all might have that friend who absolutely hates taking tests, or may just fear it altogether. It’s actually extremely common. The scientific term is “testophobia” or fear of taking tests.

I, myself, hate taking tests, so the fewer tests I have, the better.

Mrs Fletcher, assistant principal at Scott, says, “I understand that students learn in alternative ways. With that being said, it’s hard to balance the way students are taught versus how they would like to be taught.”